


Nothing Getting In My Way

by SimplyEssa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Fluff, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Protective James (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), S8 spoilers, Whump, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 11:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17303540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyEssa/pseuds/SimplyEssa
Summary: An aftermath / fix-it scene of season eight, epsiode five: The Grudge.—~~—Three things happen at once.Shiro stands up, Keith coughs, and James starts running.





	Nothing Getting In My Way

**Author's Note:**

> !!! hello!!  
> i’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but i finally got the motivation to properly write it today! i’m not sure how active i’ll be for a little while— my friends and i have had quite a few parties and i think i twisted my ankle two days ago, so;; hahhahfjsifjskf
> 
> enjoy!!!

* * *

As James races to land his fighter jet and get out to help them deal with Zethrid, Keith coughs.

No one else notices; no one except for James.

The oxygen on this planet is low, while the carbon dioxide is high. When they got the other Paladins, they were all a little low in the breating department. Pidge was definitely the worst off, needing a breathing mask to help her inhale and exhale properly, while the others simply needed a bit of rest and coughing to get it out of their systems.

Deep down, James knows that they all went through something hard, that they all thought, but Keith... he was definitely worse off than all of them combined.

The lack of oxygen plus the battle against  _Zethrid,_ of all people, he was a little worse for wear, yet no one had checked up on him; no one had noticed him struggling at all.

He didn’t understand.

Wasn’t Captain Shirogane essentially his brother? Back when they were simple fighter pilots and cargo pilots, Shiro had gone pale from worry when Keith got into a fight. He heard stories from the other Paladins of how Shiro and Keith were always there for one another, saving one another, but now... neither of them approached each other.

As he passes by Zethrid’s limp body, Axca and Shiro, he sees a little nod of understanding from Veronica when she approaches Zethrid, as well.

Three things happen at once.

Shiro stands up, a scowl on his face, Keith coughs so hard he starts shaking, and James starts running towards his destination.

The decision to start running proved to be a good one as James makes it to Keith just as he’s about to fall. He catches him around the shoulders, stumbling slightly with the sudden onslaught of weight, but regains his footing just as fast. He’s no longer that lanky little boy from when they were kids, and neither is Keith. It’s not easy, holding his almost limp body, but it’s not hard, either.

”Kogane,” he says, tapping the side of his cheek as he lowers them both to the ground, “Can you hear me?”

A soft groan is what he gets as a response, along with a slight twitch in his eyebrows. Before James can continue, he lets out another short, harsh cough, and blood bubbles past his lips.

”Damn it, Kogane,” he mutters, beneath his breath, a worried expression plastered onto his face. Keith is resting along his torso, head tipped back against his shoulder and breathing raggedly. There’s blood painted across his palm, likely from when he had covered his coughing earlier, and his right arm hangs at an uneasy angle. In short, he has exactly no idea how Keith was able to fling himself across the rocks to catch Zethrid, and hold her there long enough for Shiro and Axca to grab her.

”D—Damn you, too,” is what is said in return, and James eyes fly open. Keith is smirking at him despite the blood dribbling down his chin and the obvious broken arm, eyes half lidded as he looks at him. 

He tries to get up, then, when James is too stunned to do anything but stare. The moment he’s not leaning on James, he lets out a pitiful noise and slumps back down, lower than he had been before.

It snaps James into action.

”We need medical attention, now!” He calls over his shoulder, voice louder than he’s ever heard before. It echoes through the tavern and he can still hear it when he turns back to Keith.

His breathing is still laboured, worse than before, and then it hits him; James can give Keith his helmet.

Keith’s head is hanging, his entire body slumped against James, and though getting it on without hurting him isn’t an easy feat, he’s able to slide the silver helmet over his head quickly.

Immediately, he feels the lack of oxygen, but it must be nothing compared to what Keith had been feeling previously. 

He looks down at Keith’s face and he sees him grimacing, just as his ears adjust to the loud yelling coming from his communications line. He hasn’t yet figured out how to turn them off, yet, so all he can do is tell them to shut up and hope they hear it.

”Guys, shut the fuck up,” he hisses, shifting beneath Keith to try and get him more comfortable. It seems to help, like he hoped, as he feels the tension in Keith’s back and shoulders ease slightly. “Kogane has my helmet, he’s hurt, and your yelling is _not_ helping.”

He thinks he hears a quiet, sheepish sorry from Nadia before the line goes quiet again.

”Is that better?” he asks Keith, looking down at him with that worried look still plastered onto his face. He’s tried to get rid of it a few times, put on a neutral facade so Keith wouldn’t be scared, but it wouldn’t go away.

There’s a small nod before he starts coughing again. Fortunately, it’s not because he’s dying of oxygen deprivation, but, unfortunately, it must be because of the droplets of blood splattering across his yellow tinted visor.

He frowns, contemplating carrying Keith to help before realizing how bad of an idea that would be. His ribs must be injured after being thrown around like a rag doll, and he doesn’t want to move him in case it makes any of his injuries worse, but the medical help isn’t here.

”Alright, Kogane,” he says, softly, adjusting his grip on him. He sees Keith blink slowly, cloudy and unfocused, before they slide up to look at him, curious. “I’m gonna help you up, and we’re gonna bring you—“

”I’ve got him,” a voice interrupts, and James feels the hairs on the back of his neck rise. When he turns to look at the new person, he feels himself relax, and feels Keith completely fall limp against him, because it’s someone Keith trusts over anyone else. 

Captain Shirogane moves to crouch in front of him, and slowly takes ahold of his broken arm. Keith’s eyes fly open and he lets out a short, crackling scream before Shiro let’s go, eyes wide.

”Sorry, bud,” he says, quietly, and Keith sniffles, head dropping once more. “I was just seeing if I could set it before we started moving.”

”...’s okay,” Keith mumbles, voice so painfully vulnerable that something in James’ chest twists, and he feels like he’s intruding. 

A look of concern falls over Captain Shirogane’s facial features when Keith’s eyes flutter shut, and from there, he moves quickly. James stays still as his prosthetic gets under Keith’s knees, and his flesh and blood hand under his shoulders. Keith’s head lolls forwards until it’s laying against Shiro’s chest, and James’ heart breaks just a little.

”Get your ship started,” Captain Shirogane instructs as he begins to stand  up. In his arms, Keith looks weightless and small, even though James knows far better.

James nods quickly, feeling what Ryan had dubbed his serious face forming as he pushes himself to his feet, taking off in a run to where he had landed. He sees most of their medical team dealing with Zethrid’s wound as Axca, Veronica and another pair of soldiers carry her over to Rizavi’s jet.

He’s quick to enter his jet, hopping up the ramp in an effort to get it started for Captain Shirogane before he gets in.

They aren’t too far behind, it seems, gbecause just as James has started up the still warm engine, he hears a quiet grunt. When he turns his head, he sees Captain Shirogane standing at the edge of the cockpit, lifting an unconscious Keith higher against his chest.

”There’s a pull out slab near the left wall,” he says, as he presses the button to close the ramp, “and a first aid kit in a cabinet above it.”

Asides from a quiet thank you, they don’t talk for the rest of the trip.

 

**Author's Note:**

> just to clear everything up-- i did have some issues with s8, but overall, i liked it. i dont want any drama in comments over what happened, and if you have yuor own opinions; thats nice, and im not going to hate you for them, but dont hate others for theirs
> 
> and while there are things i didnt like about s8-- tahts what fanfic is for. i will not be rewriting s8 at all, just doing small fix it scenes like this
> 
> hope you enjoyed-- kudos and comments are appreciated <3


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